At Centennial College in Toronto, Canada, Diploma in Community Development Work is offered as a diploma in Social & Cultural Studies programme. The programme runs for 4 semesters, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition for international students is CAD 18,005 per year (CAD 2,775 per year for local students).
At a glance
Degree:Diploma
Field:Social & Cultural Studies
Duration: 4 semesters
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 2,775 / year
International tuition: CAD 18,005 / year
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Community Development Work is a two-year Ontario College Diploma offered by Centennial College's School of Community Care and Public Safety at the Ashtonbee Campus. The program prepares students to work with diverse communities and support positive social change through a mix of classroom study, skill-building workshops, and field placements that connect theory to practice. The curriculum spans topics such as engaging communities, shaping social policy, promoting equity and inclusion, planning programs, advocacy work, participatory research methods, and sustainable economic development, while building students' ability to collaborate, think critically, and solve problems in practical settings. Field placements form a core part of the program, giving students supervised experience with community organizations, non-profits, advocacy groups, and municipal agencies, where they build professional connections while contributing to their communities. The program suits students interested in social service and community-facing roles, positioning graduates for roles such as community outreach, program coordination, or serving as a community health ambassador within settings like community health centres, settlement agencies, and local community hubs. Students who wish to continue their education can use the diploma as a direct route into the third year of a related university bachelor's degree in social and community development, making the program an option both for direct entry into community work and as a stepping stone toward further study.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: This diploma requires an Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent, or mature-applicant status at 19 or older, plus Grade 12 English at the C or U level, or equivalent, or Centennial's own English Admission Test. The program also states that a C grade is required in all core courses to progress once enrolled. The program page defers its general English-proficiency standard to Centennial's institution-wide requirement, which for certificate and diploma programs sets IELTS Academic 6.0 with no band below 5.5, TOEFL iBT 67 with Reading at least 16 and Writing at least 23, and PTE Academic 51. No minimum admission GPA is published, and the program's availability table does not currently list an open intake term.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Centennial publishes no application deadline for this program; what follows is the Ontario college cycle that governs it. Domestic applicants apply through ontariocolleges.ca: for a program starting in Fall 2027 the equal-consideration date is 1 February 2027, and applications arriving after it are still assessed, but first-come first-served while places remain. Across the Ontario college system the application opened on 26 September 2026, offers may be issued from 1 November 2026, and an offer must be accepted by 1 May 2027. One $150 fee covers up to five program choices. International applicants apply directly to Centennial through its own international application process and are assessed on a rolling basis across the Fall, Winter and Summer intakes; the college publishes no fixed international closing date. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
